Bills: Worst Offseason? Time Will Tell

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The NFL's offseason rolls on and the Bills bashing continues. ESPN's John Clayton is the latest. He ranked the five worst offseasons among NFL teams, and guess who was number one... that's right... the Buffalo Bills.

Make no mistake... I'm certainly not here to defend this franchise. Ten years out of the playoffs in a league governed by the salary cap is a hard feat to accomplish. The dysfunction of this franchise for the past decade speaks for itself.

When Buddy Nix was hired as general manager I said it and I'll say it again now. At the very least they've got a football guy overseeing the football side of the organization. That alone represents progress whether you think Nix is the right guy or not.

As for the first draft class, I have to admit I was surprised to hear Spiller's name at nine. I thought for sure they would try to get a tackle there, and I certainly thought you'd see them draft a QB sooner than the 7th round.

Having said all of that, I suppose Clayton's right if you look at this offseason in a vacuum. But it's obvious to me that the Bills aren't looking at it that way. This was part of an overall plan that unfortunately is going to take time to pan out, On the quarterback issue, worse than not drafting a quarterback high would have been to take the wrong one high. In other words, if you don't have a strong conviction about the guys available in this year's class, then don't invest time and money in one. To be honest, Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy weren't exactly jumping off the board to me, and the Bills obviously saw it the same way. There was no way the Bills were going to fix all of their problems in one offseason. I think Clayton in the end was right... they're waiting to take a shot at drafting either Washington's Jake Locker or Standford's Andrew Luck next year in hopes of getting it right long term.

As for Spiller, this is an offense that lacks playmakers and he certainly helps in that area. Marshawn Lynch has worn his welcome extremely thin, and Spiller combined with Fred Jackson look to be a far better backfield tandem for this franchise moving forward. They still have huge issues with the offensive and defensive fronts, issues that will take multiple offeseasons to correct.

Lastly, Gailey does have a reputation for making the most of the quarterbacks he's got on the roster, so let's see what he can do with Edwards, Fitzpatrick, and Brohm. To me, Brohm is the guy I'm hoping is able to realize the potential he showed in college at Louisville - the level of play that made him a second round pick. He could be the answer for at least as long as it takes the guy that they eventually draft to transition and take over.

Regardless of what you think of the hires, Nix and Gailey have inherited a mess. Let's give them more than just one offseason to try to clean it up.